
. SCHOOL-DAY 
PHILOSOPHY 






R. G. CHOLMELEV-JONES 




Book \ ^ QO 



Copyright^ 



CSPXRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



SCHOOL-DAY 
PHILOSOPHY 



School -day Philosophy 

h 

R. G. CHOLMELEY-JONES 



NEW YORK 

JOHN LANE COMPANY 
1917 






Copyright, 1916, 
By Review of Reviews Co, 



Copyright, 1916, 
By Johk Lav: CoMr\*Y 



( 

M 27 1917 



©CU455334 

"He / . 



"Seemingly small things often change the 
course of one's life." 

SO it is that these philosophical 
expressions may help to stimu- 
late a greater appreciation of 
the joy of life in the younger gen- 
eration. To their elders they may 
emphasize certain views of life 
which are essential in the develop- 
ment of character. 



NOTE 

THE following thumbnail essays ap- 
peared first in the Review of Reviews, 
where they were received with gratifying 
appreciation. Each month as many as 24,000 
copies were published, in pamphlet form, at 
the request of the heads of various schools 
and colleges, for distribution among their 
students. 

The object of these brief papers is to put 
into as concise a form as possible some 
thoughts that may lead to character-building. 

For permission to publish them in book 
form, I am indebted to the Review of Reviews 
Company. 

The Author. 

December, 19 16. 



I. 

2. 

3- 

4- 

5- 
6. 

7- 

8. 

9- 
io. 

ii. 

12, 



CONTENTS 



Loyalty .... 

Two Methods of Study 

Ambition . 

Character . 

Confidence 

Your Vacation Time 

Decision . 

Success 

Determination 

Associations 

A Letter . 

Courage . 



PAGE 

*3 

31 

37 
43 
49 

55 
61 

65 
71 

77 



LOYALTY 



LOYALTY 

The Pride That Live Boys and Girls Have in Their 

School Is Closely Related to Love 

of Country — Patriotism 

THERE is a feeling we have for our na- 
tive land; it is called patriotism. We 
have a similar feeling towards our friends 
and the institutions that we hold dear — but 
we do not call it patriotism, we call it loyalty. 
It is just as highly to be prized by the re- 
cipient, and should be bestowed with just as 
much care and reserve, as patriotism. True 
loyalty means that we are willing at all times 
to give our best efforts and our entire respect 
to the person or institution toward whom we 
have this sentiment. Unless we are willing to 
make some sacrifices or work harder than we 
are actually called on to, we are not loyal, we 
are merely following the paths of least re- 
sistance. 

Every school is in reality like a small na- 

15 



16 SCHOOL-DAY PHILOSOPHY 

tion. It has its laws and its customs, just as 
any large community or tribe has its laws and 
its customs. In a school boys and girls are 
governed by teachers, who understand the 
conditions surrounding their life better than 
they themselves do, just as every well-ordered 
country is governed by people who understand 
the surrounding conditions and are better 
equipped than the majority of citizens to 
make that country strong and powerful. 

The opportunity which is offered, there- 
fore, to every live boy and girl through school 
training is most valuable and should be im- 
proved to the fullest extent. Very often it 
is a matter of great regret on the part of 
older graduates that they had not understood 
fully when young the idea back of school life; 
and that they had not appreciated then the 
privilege of associating intimately not only 
with other boys or girls, but with the teachers 
who were responsible for the development of 
every student forming that little community. 

It depends wholly upon the interest taken 
in our school days, while we are actually liv- 
ing them, and not in after life, as to how much 



LOYALTY 17 

we get out of them. If as school boys and 
girls we are not heart and soul in sympathy 
with and loyal to some one particular school, 
then we have lost a great opportunity. For 
in early life to develop a true spirit of loyalty 
not only to the individual but to groups of 
people and communities is to develop that big 
side of our character upon which in later life 
are built our ideals and our ambitions. 



TWO METHODS OF STUDY 



TWO METHODS OF STUDY 

TWO men stand at tables in a chemical 
laboratory. Both are surrounded by- 
test-tubes, bottles full of chemicals, and other 
experimenting paraphernalia. They appear 
to the layman merely to be making tests, and 
he can see np difference in the experiments 
they are performing. Strikingly similar as 
their work may be, the objects and results of 
their efforts will differ widely. 

The first man holds a test-tube half filled 
with liquid. He already knows the various 
elements that go to make up this liquid. His 
object now is to find out how much of each 
element is contained in it. In other words, 
this man is performing an experiment in 
quantatlve analysis. 

The other chemist is also working with 
a test-tube, but in this case he does not know 
what liquid it contains, nor its component 
elements. He is working in an unknown 
field, so to speak, where he must find what 

21 



22 SCHOOL-DAY PHILOSOPHY 

elements make up his solution. This work 
will call upon his imagination and all his 
powers of reasoning and deduction. Only 
by selecting and rejecting tests will he make 
the experiment a success. He is working in 
qualitative analysis. 

The same two processes of quantative and 
qualitative analyses which are used in chem- 
istry may be regarded as examples of the 
desirable and less desirable methods of study. 

A pupil is told a myriad of facts dealing 
with one subject. The entire idea is to set 
forth a mass of information to be learned 
by heart. The more important facts are em- 
phasized by the amount of time given the 
boy or girl to learn them. The pupil is then 
tested to see how many abstract facts he may 
have retained. Such training may well be 
considered "Quantative Education." 

There is another way of learning, far more 
interesting and valuable. This way enables 
the student not only to grasp the subject, 
but also to retain his knowledge of it. Here 
the purpose is not to fill the mind with facts, 
but carefully to select some parts and see how, 



TWO METHODS OF STUDY 23 

molded together, they complete the whole. 
The logical way these facts hinge upon one 
another shows their relative importance. 
Such a method can be considered "Qualitative 
Education" 

Take the school of to-day, with all its in- 
tellectual and physical advantages. It is 
really a great laboratory, but each pupil may 
be compared to the man whom we have seen 
working at his qualitative-analysis test. The 
pupil is encouraged to ask questions and get 
down to the basic principles of the subject. 
All his reasoning and deductive powers are 
called upon and developed. Ingenuity and 
originality are tested in many ways. In most 
schools the number in each class is limited. 
There is no learning a series of apparently 
disconnected facts by memory just for the 
sake of being able to recite them. The whys 
and wherefores of each individual fact are 
clearly brought out before going on to the 
next step. The pupil makes careful analysis 
of each subject brought before him, finding 
out the important facts of life and letters, and 
then judging for himself their relative im- 



24 SCHOOL-DAY PHILOSOPHY 

portance. Such school education really pre- 
pares boys and girls for the years after school. 
It is "Qualitative Education" and the most 
worth-while kind of all. 



AMBITION 



AMBITION 

AS a rule things don't "just happen," but 
are the result of a definite effort on 
the part of somebody who has thought the 
whole thing oufwell in advance. 

A boy once complained that he was not get- 
ting enough out of his school training, and 
upon investigation it was found that he was 
contributing absolutely nothing to the life of 
his school. In his process of thinking the 
situation over — comparing himself with other 
boys and deciding what kind of a man he 
wanted to be as compared with the men he 
knew or had heard about — his attitude 
changed, for he became conscious then of 
having an ambition. So it was, that he 
started to plan for his own future. 

This change of spirit, this planning ahead, 
developed in him such initiative and ability 
that soon he was not only well up in his class 
studies, but he actually became the president 
of his class. 

27 



28 SCHOOL-DAY PHILOSOPHY 

Probably this boy had always had an am- 
bition; but he was no more conscious of it 
than the child in the cradle who reaches for 
the fly on the wall or the star in the sky. It 
was not until he became thoroughly conscious 
of his ambition that he really accomplished 
something worth while, both in the interest of 
his own school life and future success. 

It is ambition that makes every live school- 
boy or girl want to accomplish something at 
school or college that will merit special com- 
mendation from both faculty and student 
body. So it is ambition that makes "worth 
while" grown people try to make their lives 
count for something not only in the eyes of 
those at home but in the eyes of the com- 
munity at large. 

From early childhood to mature age it is 
the consciousness of having an ambition that 
keeps us all alive and doing. Every one of us 
can well afford sufficient time to consider 
what is the best course for us to take, — what 
shall be our ambition — and when once our 
mind is made up we should see to it that 
thereafter we are continuously conscious of 



AMBITION 29 

having that ambition. What we accomplish 
will be our reward and the best proof that 
we have graduated from the "drifters" into 
the ranks of the ambitious. 



CHARACTER 



CHARACTER 

LINCOLN had the right sort of character 
and so had Joan of Arc. Many people 
have character, although, in some cases, it is 
not always quite as good as it might be. 

The time to start developing the right kind 
of a character is when we are young, for the 
traits which show themselves then form our 
character in later life. 

Very recently in New York City there was 
a small boy who, having failed in his ex- 
amination for promotion in one of the large 
public schools, came bravely to the principal's 
office with tears in his eyes and a shabby old 
cap clinched tightly in his strong boy's fist 
and told this story : 

4 'Mr. , I have come to tell you why 

I failed in my examination, for I don't want 
you to think I am the kind of a boy who 
would 'fall down' and make a bad showing 
for my class. 

"My father died a year ago and left 

33 



34 SCHOOL-DAY PHILOSOPHY 

Mother with us kids to get along together 
as well as we could. There were three of 
us, — Harry, he was the oldest, thirteen years, 
myself, eight years, and little sister. We had 
nothing to live on excepting what we could 
bring in ourselves. Mother can't make much 
money, for she is generally sick, so most of 
the money comes from what Harry and I 
can earn. 

"Harry, he works in an office and gets five 
dollars a week ; then at nights he checks coats 
at a restaurant and earns three dollars more, 
so it is up to me to help. We don't live swell 
— for what little money we dig up goes in 
eats. 

"I can't get a regular job because I am too 
young to be out of school (that's the law) , so 
I sell papers before school and after, and it's 
mighty tough. Every morning I get my pa- 
pers at half-past four or five, so as to have 
them all sold before school opens. After 
school I get a bunch and sell them to the 
crowds going home from work. When there 
are niglit extras it makes it harder because 
I don't get through until pretty late. Lots 



CHARACTER 35 

of times the fellows in the newspaper shipping 
room let me spend the night there, for I can 
study my lessons by using their light, and 
then when I get so sleepy I can't stay awake 
I roll up on a bunch of papers and stay there 
until it is time to start the next day. 

"It is mighty hard to keep up with the 
other boys in their studies and at the same 
time help take Dad's place in keeping Mother 
and the baby. Of course, I like to do it, but 
then a fellow can get so sleepy and tired that 
it makes him feel sick for a while. 

"I tried mighty hard to keep up in my 
class and pass those examinations, because I 
wanted to help the other fellows and the 
teachers make a good record for our class; 
and now I have failed, and I am sorry. But 
I want you and the others to know that I 
didn't mean to fail." 

At the graduation exercises a few days later 
the principal, after giving out many cer- 
tificates and diplomas, remarked that most 
likely the mother of each graduating boy 
would feel that her son was the brightest and 
best of all the class, but that as a matter of 



36 SCHOOL-DAY PHILOSOPHY 

fact the most successful boy of the whole 
school, the boy who was making the most of 
his life, and whose character was developing 
fast each day, had not graduated at all, but 
was obliged to spend another term in the same 
grade. Then the principal told the story 
which has just been told to you. 

This story is a true one and is a good 
example of what character really stands for. 
It is not a matter of wealth or position, but 
of something fine that is within us and we 
are capable of developing just as this fine little 
newsboy did, who in reality was so much 
like "Lincoln." 



CONFIDENCE 



CONFIDENCE 

Seemingly Small Things Often Change the Course 
of Our Life 

IN the country there once was a small boy 
who, because of an apparent lack of in- 
terest in things about the farm and at school, 
became the worry of his family. Nothing 
seemed to go right with him, and his conduct 
was such that his parents seemed to be justi- 
fied in being concerned about his future. 
Finally, as a last resort, a town relative 
was sent for to give the lad a real talking to. 

The appointed day arrived for the "lec- 
ture" and Harry was brought into the living 
room — trembling with fear and partly set in 
his determination to do things in his own way. 

"Harry," said the town relative, "your 
father tells me that he is much worried about 
you. He thinks you are going to be the black 
sheep of the family, but I am not worried 
in the least. You are just a boy after all 
and I have confidence in you." 

That was all there was to the lecture and 

39 



40 SCHOOL-DAY PHILOSOPHY 

the subject then changed to other things. But 
that one little sentence of encouragement 
spoken by the town relative proved to be the 
turning point in that boy's career. It directed 
his course immediately toward ultimate suc- 
cess, rather than failure. Someone had con- 
fidence in him; and, therefore, he in turn de- 
veloped confidence in himself and in his ability 
to stand up under the test. To-day he is a 
successful business man. 

There is fun as well as satisfaction in ac- 
complishing difficult things. It doesn't mat- 
ter a bit whether it is long division, algebra, 
Latin, football, the first day's work at being 
office boy, the building of railroads, or any 
other task. No one actually knows what the 
outcome of an undertaking will be until it 
has been completed, but one thing is certain : 
The coward, the boy or girl, man or woman, 
who has not confidence in his or her ability 
to conquer a difficult job, will never have 
even the opportunity to become really success- 
ful. Do not, however, mistake conceit for 
self-confidence, for one is destructive and the 
other constructive. 



CONFIDENCE 41 

Whatever you have set out to achieve, ap- 
proach it with a firm belief in your ability to 
succeed. Cultivate a feeling of confidence 
both in the cause and in its accomplishment, 
and then even the things that seem most 
difficult will become easier and soon will be 
well within your reach. 



YOUR VACATION TIME 



YOUR VACATION TIME 

PLAN new activities to occupy your vaca- 
tion time. Brilliant ideas have some- 
times been developed by people while playing, 
for then the mind is free from fret and 
worry. 

If you are sick or overworked, by all means 
"loaf" — do absolutely nothing for a while — 
rest the mind, and give the body a chance to 
recuperate. Thus you will gather new energy 
and serenity of mind. 

On the other hand, very likely you are well 
— the great majority of us are well. In that 
case, your vacation will be devoted mostly to 
recreation of some kind. 

If it is to be play, then play vigorously, 
so that you may strengthen the faculties that 
produce energy, fitness, and enthusiasm. 
Make every minute of play just as important 
as your serious tasks at school. Select games 
that require more than mere luck and chance 
to win, games that will exercise and exhilarate 

45 



46 SCHOOL-DAY PHILOSOPHY 

the mind as well as the body. For competi- 
tion in sports develops the mental powers, 
improves the judgment, and makes for ability 
to decide quickly. 

And to do things well, you should become 
really interested in what you are doing, 
whether it be a game of tennis or a problem 
in mathematics. Interest is largely a matter 
of our mental attitude toward the business in 
hand. Go at the task in the proper frame of 
mind. You remember how some days you 
have been enthusiastic about something 
which, the next day, has not interested you 
a particle. 

This vacillation and wabbling is what 
sometimes causes people to become "rolling 
stones." They cannot find useful places for 
themselves in the world of activity because 
they do not become specifically and thor- 
oughly interested in some special lines of 
endeavor. So they fail. 

With the beginning of your vacation time, 
make up your mind that there are certain 
definite things you are going to learn to do 
well during the summer. Choose some line 



YOUR VACATION TIME 47 

of activity particularly fitted to your tempera* 
ment and physique; and go at it with a de- 
termination to excel in that line. Perhaps 
your vacation will be all play; maybe you are 
going to take advantage of the long rest 
period to continue studying some of the prob- 
lems which you have been undertaking at 
school or college. 

But whether it is to be study or recreation, 
determine that whatever you tackle, it shall 
be done as well as it is possible for you to do 
it. The result is certain to justify the intelli- 
gence, initiative, and effort which you have 
expended. 



DECISION 



DECISION 

Cultivate the Power of Personal Decision, Based 
Upon Facts, Rather Than Depend Ex- 
clusively Upon the Decision of 
Others 

IT is the easiest thing in the world to culti- 
vate the habit of letting others think for 
you, and to base your own opinion upon the 
decision reached by someone else. Wabblers 
let anyone decide for them, but wabblers 
usually become nonentities. 

In developing the power of decision you 
need three distinct qualities. 

First, the ability to acquire important 
facts. 

Second, the capacity to weigh these 
facts, without prejudice, and to come 
to a definite conclusion. 
Third, sufficient strength of character 
to carry out your mental determina- 
tion. 

51 



52 SCHOOL-DAY PHILOSOPHY 

In order to have your decisions valued and 
respected by others it is important that you 
should not be obstinate, stubborn or opinion- 
ated, for 

To be obstinate is to be weak, and an 
obstinate person is seldom strong 
enough in character to change an 
opinion which he has already ex- 
pressed. 

To be stubborn is to be ignorant, for 
stubbornness locks out all willingness 
to recognize facts or to listen to 
reason. 

To be opinionated is to be conceited; 
nothing is quite so destructive to char- 
acter-building as conceit, and no trait 
is so damaging to one's career, for it 
is universally ridiculed and despised. 
While it is important to get the opinion of 
others, yet to base your decision entirely upon 
their opinion would be to deprive yourself of 
the opportunity of developing character. Ac- 
cording to Harrington Emerson, the efficiency 
expert, one of the thirteen most important 
principles of efficiency is "to obtain and use 



DECISION 53 

competent counsel." But it must be remem- 
bered that this obtaining and using competent 
counsel is only for the purpose of allowing 
one to base his own decision upon facts rather 
than upon suppositions. 

At school or at college, at home or in busi- 
ness, things often happen that call for imme- 
diate action. For those who cultivate the 
habit of making decisions these problems are 
easily met, but for those who always follow 
the lead of someone else the situation is much 
more difficult. 

How can I get the most out of my 

school and college training? 

What sports shall I enter? 

Shall I try to become an officer of my 

class ? 
To decide these important questions com- 
petent counsel is needed. But the final deci- 
sion, if it is to be the right one for you, must 
rest entirely in your hands. Resent the tendency 
of others to decide for you and cultivate zeal- 
ously the power of decision. To aid in culti- 
vating the power of decision it is well to make a 
private written memorandum expressing your 



54 SCHOOL-DAY PHILOSOPHY 

views; and then hold to that decision until 
you are justified in changing it, basing your 
later decision upon facts that can be substan- 
tiated. People of decision do not necessarily 
go about imposing their views upon others. 
However, they are conscious in their own 
minds of having formed a definite opinion 
which can be intelligently expressed if the oc- 
casion requires. 

To cultivate the habit of decision develops 
a splendid feeling of confidence and self- 
possession. This feeling of confidence in our- 
selves w T ill inspire others, even if they do not 
agree with us, to have confidence in us and to 
respect our decisions. 



SUCCESS 




SUCCESS 

Our Own Success Should Not Be Based on the 

Failure of Others, but Entirely Upon Our 

Own Individual Conduct 

RECENTLY a very successful man, 
when asked how well he played golf, 
replied: "Just well enough to let my part- 
ner win ; then he will be happy, and I'm sure 
that I will be also. I play for the fun of the 
game and the companionship of my partner." 

Here is a man whose life is a real success, 
adored and respected by his family and 
friends, a creator of a big business, and an 
extremely active factor in local affairs as well 
as the affairs of the nation. Yet he has 
made certain that his success is not based 
upon the failures of others. On the contrary, 
as he achieves success he helps others to win 
success also. 

At school, for instance, the failure of some 

57 



5S SCHOOL-DAY PHILOSOPHY 

students is not necessary in order that others 
may succeed. It would not detract in the 
least from the success of each individual stu- 
dent if all the students in a class should make 
a perfect record; but rather it would add 
materially to the possibilities for continued 
and greater success of the individual by rea- 
son of his association with other successful 
students. 

To-day, America's leading industries are 
based upon principles of co-operation rather 
than unfair competition. Manufacturers have 
learned that each successful business creates 
a larger demand for the product of that par- 
ticular industry, and that it is bad business 
to try to succeed by the destruction of others. 

School boys and girls — those who intend 
to take their share of the big responsibilities 
which will rest upon their shoulders as they 
grow older — should get in early life a full 
appreciation of the word success. Real suc- 
cess often has nothing to do with money or 
even fame. These rewards are merely inci- 
dentals. Among the really successful people 
in the world are many who are neither rich 



SUCCESS 59 

nor famous. Yet they are successful because 
every day they are doing those things which 
are most important and worth while in life. 



DETERMINATION 



DETERMINATION 

Success Is Based Largely Upon the Degree of 

Determination with Which We Tackle 

Our Daily Problems 

LACK of determination gives us an in- 
different attitude towards life. 
It is impossible for old people to live their 
life all over again with a determination to 
do things differently — so it is up to every live 
boy and girl to take a definite part of each 
day seriously— with a DETERMINATION : 

To start each day with a clear con- 
science and a happy heart. 
To be strong and brave. 
To do something really worth while 
each day. 

To make good resolutions and to stick 
to them. 

To study hard and to take proper 
physical exercise. 

63 



64 SCHOOL DAY PHILOSOPHY 

To work and play with enthusiasm 
and sincerity. 

To be absolutely honest in all dealings. 
To be considerate of relatives, teach- 
ers and friends. 
To make other people happy. 
To correct today the errors of yes- 
terday. 
It is surprisingly seldom that people fail to 
do well those things which they set out with 
a definite determination to do. There is 
power within all of us to do not only the 
usual but the unusual, if we will only make 
up our minds definitely to do so, and are 
willing to expend sufficient energy and initia- 
tive to see it through. 

As evidence of our own determination to be 
strong let us decide today upon certain things 
to be accomplished, then "go to it" with a 
genuine desire to win. What we accomplish 
will give renewed self-confidence and will in 
itself be sufficient reward. 



ASSOCIATIONS 



ASSOCIATIONS 

In the Making Up of Your Particular Group, 
Where Do You Come In? 

THE mere opinion of outsiders that you 
are one of a certain group does not, 
by any means, constitute you a real and vital 
member. That depends entirely upon what 
in reality you are. 

Consider out of all the people you know, 
irrespective of age, who by reason of their 
individuality you would consider as one of 
your particular group. 

Every living being, young or old, is in- 
cluded in some special group. Even in fiction 
it's the same. Tom Sawyer was one of a 
group, and Penrod, too, to say nothing of 
Mark Twain and Booth Tarkington, the 
authors, through whose genius these two 
characters were created. The more human 
and successful people are, the more important 
and lasting will be their influence. 

€7 



68 SCHOOL-DAY PHILOSOPHY 

It is part of human nature to associate 
mostly with those who share our own ideals 
and ambitions. Therefore, we must start 
early to develop courage, which begets team 
work; fairness, which begets confidence, and 
sympathy, which makes opportunities for 
service. 

Association has much to do with our in- 
dividual success or failure, depending to a 
large degree upon our ability to select as 
intimates those boys and girls, men and 
women, who through strength of character, 
industry, and square dealing, are bound to 
succeed, and who are continuously contribut- 
ing to the life of others. 

It may not always be appreciated, yet it 
is an important fact that although parents 
have the responsibility of placing us among 
the proper kind of friends, we must, after 
all, choose our own special group of intimates. 

Often, boys and girls, in their natural 
desire to have friendships of their own 
making, will apparently be lacking in appre- 
ciation of home interests. The showing of 
enthusiasm for school life, where there are 



ASSOCIATIONS 69 

many other boys and girls- — -the desire when 
out of school to play in someone else's "back- 
yard" — is merely an expression of character, 
expansion and development. In this way 
special groups are created, which, if properly 
formed, will last even into old age. Con- 
sider our parents' present friendships which 
were started 'way back in school days. 

Lucky indeed is the boy or girl in whose 
"backyard" all the other friends want to play. 
The parents of that boy and girl understand 
and appreciate the psychology of youth, and 
know instinctively how best to develop young 
initiative. 



A LETTER 



A LETTER 

Are You Living Up to the Trust and Confidence 
That Someone Has Placed in Youf 

October i. 
«* *]r UST now I have written Father and 

J Mother about sending you to 

Academy. After receiving several very in- 
teresting letters from Dr. , Head- 
master, arrangements have been completed 
for your enrollment, and the school is opening 
October n. 

"As you know, all of us have not had the 
advantages of a private school training, for 
it was necessary for us to start work mighty 
early in order to make ends meet. How- 
ever, by practising certain economies, it has 
been made possible for you to attend the 

Academy. I am reminding you of 

all this because I think it only fair that you 
should know the facts, and I feel absolutely 
confident in knowing them you are going to 

73 



74 SCHOOL-DAY PHILOSOPHY 

do your part in making the most of your 
opportunities. 

"There will be many temptations at school 
to do things that your conscience will tell 
you should not be done. It is at these times 
that I want you to show me how really big 
and strong you can be. For instance, smok- 
ing. I want you to play fair by not even 
taking a little smoke now and again on the 
sly. It is not worth doing compared with 
all the reasons why you are asked to let it 
alone. 

"Besides being a very dear brother, I think 
you are an unusually fine boy, with really 
big chances to make a striking record for 
yourself at the Academy. 

"In every instance play fair and square 
with the other boys. Try not to fight, but do 
those things that are kind and strong. 

"Choose carefully those boys whom you are 
going to make your intimate friends, for they 
will, in all probability, be your best and most 
intimate friends throughout all your life. 

"I would like especially to have you get to 
know the Headmaster and teachers well, see 



A LETTER 75 

as much of them as you can, even try to play 
with them if they will let you. Remember 
they are just as human and anxious to play- 
as the rest of us, so do not fail to show them 
that you appreciate what they are doing for 
you. 

"We are all anxious to have you take an 
active part in the affairs of the academy 
and your special class. But don't try always 
to dominate, but give the other fellow a 
chance. Keep in mind, however, that it is 
much more fun to be recognized as one of the 
leaders than to be classed among those who 
take little or no advantage of their school 
opportunities. 

"A few days ago you had a perfectly good 
(13th) birthday and I am sorry that right 
then and there I didn't write you a letter of 
love and congratulations Will you consider 
this as my birthday letter, and your tuition to 

the Academy as your birthday 

present?" 



This letter is still another evidence of the 
fact that whether it be grandparents, father, 



76 SCHOOL-DAY PHILOSOPHY 

mother, aunt, uncle, cousin, sister or even a 
"big brother," there is always someone who 
is spending much of his life to see that our 
lives are well directed. 

Therefore, our answer to any such letter 
as the one quoted above is given by our will- 
ingness to play the game fair, and to prove, 
irrespective of our age, that we are deserving 
of the confidence and trust others have put 
in us. 



COURAGE 



COURAGE 

That Inner Power Which Makes Us Continue in 

Pursuit of an Ambition, Even Though Our 

Weaker Selves Bid Us Give In 

" TJ EMEMBER," said one of our Civil 
J^X. War Generals to his men before go- 
ing into battle, "in all probability the enemy 
are just as scared of us as we are of them, 
so let's continue our charge with vigor that 
the courage of the enemy may be broken and 
that our own may be maintained to the very 
end." 

It is a fact that we would accomplish much 
more in our lives if only we had a little more 
confidence in our own ability to succeed. This 
lack of courage prevents many, both young 
and old, from attempting things that are 
in reality well within reach, and from contin- 
uing in pursuit of an ambition when the battle 
is all but won. 

In the great armies of the world men are 

79 



80 SCHOOL-DAY PHILOSOPHY 

trained to be brave in the face of great dan- 
gers — they are trained to continue their 
charge upon the enemy, even though com- 
rades are being killed to the right and to the 
left — never flinching once, nor permitting 
their minds to become cowardly. 

So it is with boys and girls who are in that 
glorious period of youth attending school 
or college where others, too, are being trained 
that each may graduate equipped to tackle 
the bigger responsibilities of life with a cour- 
age and enthusiasm which will realize for 
them their greatest ambitions. 

It is just as wonderful an experience to be 
recognized as a big boy or girl as it is a big 
man or woman. So don't sit back and wait 
until age has crept on before making a real 
attempt to succeed in something that is big 
and worth while. 

In class don't sit crouched behind the ones 
in front so as not to be called upon and com- 
pelled to make good; in sports don't jump 
aside and encourage another to take your 
place, when in your heart you believe the 
active part of the game is coming your way. 



COURAGE 81 

Stand up under the strain and prove that you 
are a person of courage. 

To shirk constantly the responsibility of 
making good before others, as well as to one's 
own conscience, is to encourage a life of fail- 
ure, rather than one of strength and success. 

While at school or college earn a reputation 
for being brave. Do those things that are 
worth while and that will make your class- 
mates remember you always for your courage 
and strength of character. 




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